Ryan Key

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

rock musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...

Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

Episcopal School of Jacksonville is an independent, coeducational private college preparatory school in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1966 by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. The school has a middle school and a high school and enrolls about 900 students a...

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts is a magnet high school in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. The school opened in the 1922 as a primary school specifically for African American students. The school is named after local civil rights activist, Douglas Anderson...

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

together with fellow musician Dan McLintock from the local pop punk band Inspection 12

Inspection 12

Inspection 12 is an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, founded by Robert Reid, Dan McLintock, John Comee and Scott Shad. They have released two full length recordings internationally, one on Honest Don's Records and one on Suburban Home Records and Takeover Records...

, inviting Ryan to perform guest vocals on their 1999 album Step Into the Fire for the song "Nothing to Lose".

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

rock musician. He is best known for being the lead singer and rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...

Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...

Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...

, and one of the two lead singers in his side project Big If.

Early life

Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

Episcopal School of Jacksonville is an independent, coeducational private college preparatory school in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1966 by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. The school has a middle school and a high school and enrolls about 900 students a...

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts is a magnet high school in the San Marco neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida. The school opened in the 1922 as a primary school specifically for African American students. The school is named after local civil rights activist, Douglas Anderson...

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

together with fellow musician Dan McLintock from the local pop punk band Inspection 12

Inspection 12

Inspection 12 is an American pop punk band from Jacksonville, Florida, founded by Robert Reid, Dan McLintock, John Comee and Scott Shad. They have released two full length recordings internationally, one on Honest Don's Records and one on Suburban Home Records and Takeover Records...

, inviting Ryan to perform guest vocals on their 1999 album Step Into the Fire for the song "Nothing to Lose". They majored in theater for a short while before dropping out to go to Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

Craig's Brother is an American punk rock band founded by Andy Snyder, Scott Hrapoff and Heath Konkel, later joined by Ted Bond and Adam Nigh. They have released three full length recordings internationally, two on Tooth & Nail Records and one self-released through digital distribution.-Foundation...

, which was looking for two guitarists and backup vocalists. They were successful, but after touring for a while, at one time representing the band as an acoustic duo at the Cornerstone Festival

Cornerstone Festival

Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...

, the band's van broke down and with the tour abruptly cancelled, Ryan moved back to Jacksonville and took a shift at Chili's

Chili's

Chili's Grill & Bar is a restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine. The chain has more than 1400 casual dining restaurants, mostly located in the United States and Canada...

Sean Mackin is an American rock musician. He is best known as the violinist and backing vocalist for the American pop punk band Yellowcard and is now one of the two remaining full-time members of the band from its original line-up, along with bandmate Longineu W. Parsons III.-Early life:Mackin was...

.

Yellowcard (2000-2008; 2010-present)

When Ben Dobson, the previous lead singer of Yellowcard, decided to quit, Ben Harper

Ben Harper (musician)

Not to be confused with Ben HarperBenjamin Eric Harper is an American rock musician. He is best known for being the former lead guitarist for the American pop punk band Yellowcard, as well as for the bands Amber Pacific and HeyMike!. Harper is co-owner of Takeover Records.-Yellowcard :Harper formed...

asked Ryan to come and join their band Yellowcard as the lead singer at first, but after Todd Clary left the band in early 2000 Key also took on the role of rhythm guitarist. After Dan returned home, he also helped Inspection 12 record bass for their Home EP that got them signed to Honest Don's Records

Honest Don's Records

Honest Don's Records was a subsidiary label based in San Francisco, California, set up along with Pink & Black Records by Fat Wreck Chords to release material by bands that didn't fit within the roster at Fat....

. On March 6, 2001, Ryan's best friend and Inspection 12 drummer Scott Shad went into diabetic shock, passed out in his car and died in the crash. His death was traumatizing for Ryan, and both bands would keep writing songs and paying tribute to Scott's memory throughout their careers.

Ryan then convinced Yellowcard to move to Camarillo, Ventura County, California, where the group recorded and released their third album, One for the Kids in 2001 on Lobster Records

Lobster Records

Lobster Records is an independent record label based in Santa Barbara, California. It was founded by Stevan Lubarsky in 1991. The label started with Bad Neighbor, a Montecito based rock band, with a huge local following featuring Alan Duncan and Mark Bennett on guitars, Sean Murphy on drums, Todd...

The Underdog EP is an extended play by Yellowcard that was released in 2002. Although publicized very little, it tried new styles in Yellowcard's music, making the transition between One for the Kids and Ocean Avenue and was overall well-accepted by fans. It is often mentioned by listeners that...

Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...

Records in 2002. After the release of The Underdog EP, Warren Cooke left the band for personal reasons. The band later asked close friend Peter Mosely

Peter Mosely

Peter Michael Mosely is an American rock musician. He is one of the two guitarist, vocalist and pianist for the American punk rock band Inspection 12 as well as the former bassist for the American pop punk band Yellowcard. He joined Inspection 12 in 1996 but left in 2004 to be the bassist for...

from Inspection 12, to become the band's new bass guitarist.
After Yellowcard released The Underdog EP the band was sign with Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

, who were looking to sign pop punk bands at the time. Yellowcard then began the recording of their major-label debut album Ocean Avenue in late 2002, gaining the band major success. Mosely, being a member of both Yellowcard and Inspection 12 simultaneously, left during recording of the album due to personal problems. He stayed with Inspection 12, and Ryan was again invited to reprise his guest vocals on their new album Get Rad

Get Rad

Get Rad is Inspection 12's sixth full length album. It was released independently in 2003, then internationally in 2004 by Floppy Cow Records, and in the US by Suburban Home Records. Takeover Records rereleased it with the original artwork in 2005...

as the band was recording a new version of "Nothing to Lose". The band then asked Alex Lewis

Alex Lewis (musician)

Alex Lewis is an American musician and was bass player for the popular punk-rock band Yellowcard. He was replaced by Peter Mosely. Lewis appeared in two music videos, Ocean Avenue and Way Away. Even though he is no longer in Yellowcard he still keeps in touch with current members of the band,...

to join as the bass guitarist. Yellowcard released their album Ocean Avenue on July 22, 2003 hiting at number 23 on US Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, the album was a commercial success in the United States with the hit singles Way Away

Way Away

"Way Away" is the first single and opening track of Yellowcard's album Ocean Avenue. The song and music video both reflect the band's choice about leaving their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida to California in hopes of making a name for themselves in the Southern California music scene."Way Away"...

"Ocean Avenue" is the title of a song recorded by American pop punk group Yellowcard. It was released in September 2004 as the second single from Ocean Avenue and the third track. It is known for bringing them into the mainstream, as it received numerous spins on MTV and increasing radio airplay...

, and Only One.

Lewis left the band in late 2004 after Peter Mosely rejoined the band. In 2005 the band members separated for a while to create new material for their next album, Key and Mosely moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The band reregrouped in LA in early 2005 to began pre-production of their new album.

In April, lead guitarist Ben Harper stated in an interview with MTV News that he was finished with writing the guitar tracks for the album and that he was leaving the band. He was replaced by Ryan Mendez from the band Staring Back. The album Lights and Sounds

Lights and Sounds

Lights and Sounds is the fifth studio album by American pop punk band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006 in the United States through Capitol Records. Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspired to reflect what the band was feeling at the time of production and...

was released in January 2006, the album's theme centers around the band's negative feelings towards Los Angeles and time of production made the broke away from its pop punk sound to a more alternative rock album. The album peaked at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

"Lights and Sounds" is a song by the American pop punk band Yellowcard. The song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their fifth album, Lights and Sounds...

", was the first single, released a week before the album. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Lights and Sounds did well on the charts and reviews, but failed to match the 2 million sales of the band's previous album.

On October 16, 2006, the band re-entered the studio to begin pre-production on their next album. Paper Walls

Paper Walls

Paper Walls is the third major-label album from American pop punk band Yellowcard, released on July 17, 2007, but their fourth full-length studio album with Ryan Key and sixth including those recorded before him. This is also the first Yellowcard album with Ryan Mendez, the last with Peter Mosely,...

, which was released in the US on July 17, 2007, the album debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, selling about 40,000 copies in its first week. The band spent the rest of the year promoting their new album while touring with Linkin Park

Linkin Park

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...

Blue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...

. The band needed to re-schedule several dates during their European leg of their tour in January while Parsons went home to spend time with family. Yellowcard released their live album Live from Las Vegas at the Palms

Live from Las Vegas at the Palms

Live from Las Vegas at the Palms is the first live album from American pop punk band Yellowcard, released January 22, 2008, and the final Yellowcard album to be released through Capitol Records. It is an iTunes exclusive album. The album was recorded in October 2007, while Yellowcard were on the...

on January 22, 2008. It was recorded during their Blue October Tour in October 2007 in Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

.

In April 2008 Yellowcard officially announced an "indefinite hiatus" canceling their European and acoustic tours. The band stated the reason why they went on hiatus was to focus on their personal lives for the time.

On August 1, 2010, it was confirmed that Yellowcard had ended their hiatus and was working on a new record. The band re-entered the studio in September 2010 to begin the production on their new record and signed with Hopeless Records

Hopeless Records

Hopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...

. Sean O'Donnell joined the band as their new bassist replacing Pete Mosely, who declined to rejoin. They released their new single "For You, and Your Denial

For You, and Your Denial

"For You, and Your Denial" is the first single from Yellowcard's seventh album When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes, released to iTunes on January 18, 2011...

", on January 18, 2011 and released the music video for single on February 22, 2011 on MTV2

MTV2

MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...

When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes is the seventh studio album released by American rock band Yellowcard on March 22, 2011 under Hopeless Records. The album has received strong critical acclaim...

on March 22, 2011, the album debuted at number 19 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts. The have toured with the bands All Time Low

All Time Low

All Time Low is an American pop punk band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2003.The band consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alexander Gaskarth, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Jack Barakat, bassist and backing vocalist Zachary Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson...

Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album Hold on Tight in 2008 which produced notable singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with their 2010 EP Beneath It All, which achieved moderate...

The Summer Set are a pop-punk band from Scottsdale, Arizona.-History:After a few years of playing music together, Jess Bowen and brothers John and Stephen Gomez, set out in the fall of 2007 to form The Summer Set with newfound vocalist Brian Dales. Jess, John, and Stephen played in a previous band...

Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...

Runner Runner is an American pop rock band founded in Huntington Beach, California in 2008. They were the first band signed to a joint venture between Capitol Records, Merovingian Music and C.E. Music, a subsidiary of David Letterman's Worldwide Pants, Inc...

in support of the album.

Other work: 2008-present

During the Yellowcard hiatus Ryan also started singing in a side project entitled "Big If" with Sean O'Donnell of Reeve Oliver

Reeve Oliver

Reeve Oliver is an American pop rock band formed in 2000 in San Diego, California. They have released two albums and several EPs and have toured with larger acts such as The Vandals, Yellowcard, and Switchfoot...

. Big If has released several songs on their MySpace page, but have not yet released a record. They are not currently signed to a record deal.

Ryan Key recorded a song entitled "Stop Right There" with Hollywood based pop-punk band Assemble the Skyline. The track was released on January 7, 2011 with Assemble the Skyline's new EP "Right Here. Right Now". Ryan also collaborated with the Michigan pop-punk band Every Avenue

Every Avenue

-History:Every Avenue formed in Marysville, Michigan in 2003. Early on, they changed lead singers, and the former lead singer James Beesley later became the group's tour manager, and is currently working with former drummer Mike Govaere. They self-released two EPs in 2004 and 2006 before signing to...

. He has co-written their songs "Girl Like That" from their album Picture Perfect

Picture Perfect (Every Avenue album)

Picture Perfect is the second studio album by American pop punk band Every Avenue, released through Fearless Records on November 3, 2009....

Bad Habits is the third studio album by Every Avenue, which will be released on August 2, 2011. The album was announced through a YouTube video on April, 27. The song "Whatever Happened To You" was streamed on their Facebook shortly after the album announcement. The lead single, "Fall Apart", was...

Silverstein is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 2000. Their band name is a reference to the famous children's author Shel Silverstein, whom the band had admired and read the stories of as children. They have released a total of five studio albums, three EP's, a...

song, entitled "Stay Posi", to be released in early 2011.

Non-musical projects

Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...

Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...

in a film called Moustachette. He has appeared as a Made coach on the MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

MTV's MADE is a self-improvement reality television series broadcast on MTV. The series follows teens who have a goal and want to be "made" into things like singers, athletes, dancers, skateboarders, etc. The teens are joined by a "Made Coach", an expert in their chosen field, who tries to help...

MTV Cribs and CMT Cribs, depending on which channel it airs, is a franchise reality television program that originated on the MTV Networks' MTV. It later aired on its CMT channel that features tours of the houses and mansions of celebrities. The first show aired September 2000...

. He also had an appearance as a party goer in the 2008 Monster film, Cloverfield

Cloverfield

Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...

.

Discography

The Underdog EP is an extended play by Yellowcard that was released in 2002. Although publicized very little, it tried new styles in Yellowcard's music, making the transition between One for the Kids and Ocean Avenue and was overall well-accepted by fans. It is often mentioned by listeners that...

Lights and Sounds is the fifth studio album by American pop punk band Yellowcard, released on January 24, 2006 in the United States through Capitol Records. Lights and Sounds is Yellowcard's first concept album, which was inspired to reflect what the band was feeling at the time of production and...

Paper Walls is the third major-label album from American pop punk band Yellowcard, released on July 17, 2007, but their fourth full-length studio album with Ryan Key and sixth including those recorded before him. This is also the first Yellowcard album with Ryan Mendez, the last with Peter Mosely,...

Live from Las Vegas at the Palms is the first live album from American pop punk band Yellowcard, released January 22, 2008, and the final Yellowcard album to be released through Capitol Records. It is an iTunes exclusive album. The album was recorded in October 2007, while Yellowcard were on the...